Monarch butterflies returning to Pismo Beach grove

Monarch butterflies are coming back to Pismo Beach. A celebration is scheduled for Oct. 27 to welcome the butterflies back to the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove.

Monarch butterflies are welcomed to Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove in an opening day celebration in October 2011. The colony is one of the largest in the nation, hosting an average of 25,000 butterflies over the past five years.
jmellom@thetribunenews.com

The Pismo Beach colony of monarch butterflies is one of the largest in the nation, hosting an average of 25,000 butterflies over the past five years, according to www.monarchbutterfly.org, a site funded by the visitors bureau.

The opening day event runs from 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the grove, located on the west side of Highway 1, just south of the North Beach Campground in Pismo Beach. This year’s event is about an hour longer than last year's butterfly festivities.

The grove is staffed daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with docent programs at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.